


It Makes It Worse

by Cade Welentine (cadewelentine)



Series: The MA College AU that Nobody Asked For [2]
Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheating, Let's call it that, M/M, Secret Relationship, Well a kind of happy ending, a funny ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 17:13:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11468022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cadewelentine/pseuds/Cade%20Welentine
Summary: In which Marvin spends Thanksgiving with Whizzer in Boston.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with more of this college AU! This ended up being a much angstier fic than I anticipated, but I still think it's pretty good. There's a second chapter that brings it back around to the light side, but I won't be posting that until tomorrow or Wednesday because it needs a little tweaking (some of the tags relate to that chapter so you can speculate). Enjoy, and please leave comments and kudos if you do (I thrive off them)! <3  
> (P.S. Shout out to worrylesswritemore, whose own college au is spectacular, but who also motivated me to start writing this the same day I posted "Clothing Optional".)

“I was beginning to think you’d stood me up.” Whizzer teases as Marvin climbs off the bus that has finally rolled into the station, nearly an hour later than it was supposed to.

“Don’t start.” Marvin warns, adjusting the way his duffle bag sits on his shoulder.

“Someone’s in a pissy mood.” Whizzer says, raising an eyebrow. He’s right. Marvin _is_ in a pissy mood. Not only was the bus late, but he spilled his coffee all over his lap within the first half hour of the nearly 4 hour ride to Boston. Then Trina was texting him for most of the ride, and the last thing he wanted to deal with while trying to visit his ~~boyfr~~ \-- _his Whizzer_ was his girlfriend.

Whizzer’s wearing a dark gray pea coat and skinny jeans; a scarf that Charlotte _definitely_ knit him hangs loosely around his neck. And that makes Marvin even pissier, because it looks like Boston suits Whizzer, like it suits him so well he might stay forever, and that’s not a part of Marvin’s _plan_.

He can’t have it all if part of it all lives in Boston.

“Happy Thanksgiving.” Whizzer says, and Marvin suddenly realizes he’s been quiet too long. Too much quiet makes Whizzer nervous.

“Happy Thanksgiving.” Marvin echoes. He relaxes slightly, but then Whizzer takes his hand and tries to kiss him, and he pulls away. And even though Whizzer’s normally the one to protest displays of affection, Whizzer looks hurt.

“I thought you _liked_ that stuff.”

“I _do_.” Marvin says. “But we’re in public.” It’s like Whizzer’s forgotten about all the hiding and sneaking they had to do, like he’s forgotten about subtlety.   
“Nobody here knows us.” Whizzer retorts. “And it’s Massachussetts, two guys kissing is not exactly weird.” Marvin nods like he gets it, but he’s not sure he’ll ever be comfortable kissing Whizzer in _public_. Maybe Whizzer picks up on that, because he doesn’t try to kiss him again.

* * *

 

Whizzer drags Marvin up and down the city, insisting he get a taste of everything in the short time he’s here. He takes him to some restaurant that apparently has the “best” clam chowder in all of New England (Marvin thinks that every other restaurant in town probably claims the same thing) and practically forces a bowl of the stuff into Marvin’s mouth. Whizzer pulls him into some Irish pub and manages to get them both beers, because he “knows the bartender”; Marvin guesses from the looks Whizzer and bartender exchange that they know each other _intimately_. The thought makes his stomach sour.

Marvin is jealous and possessive, and he knows this about himself. He’s not _proud_  of it, but he can’t really help it either. Whizzer’s never claimed to be exclusive, and back home he only was by default. In theory, it doesn’t bother Marvin, but now that he’s coming face to face with it, it makes him want to punch in a wall.

“Do you wanna get out of here?” Marvin asks, placing a hand on Whizzer’s knee to get his attention. Whizzer turns to him and studies his face for half a moment.

“Sure.”

* * *

 

Whizzer’s dorm room is exactly how Marvin expects it to be. The bed is neatly made, the closet meticulously organized. A few practice photographs are littered across the desk, where Whizzer’ laptop sits closed; Marvin thinks the photographs are good, but Whizzer probably doesn’t.

“I figured you wouldn’t mind sleeping in my bed,” Whizzer starts as he walks over to the desk to tidy up a nonexistent mess. “But if you think it’s too small, I can easily text Brendan and ask if you can sleep in his.”

“Brendan?” Marvin asks.

“My roommate.” Whizzer nods to the other half of the room, which is more cluttered and has dozens of pictures of friends and family strung on the wall.

“Oh.” Marvin says. Then, “Is he queer?”

“It’s art school, Marv,” Whizzer says. “Everybody’s queer.”

“Oh.”

Whizzer unbuttons his coat and hangs it over the back of his desk chair. He unwraps the scarf from around his neck and places it over the coat. Marvin takes his own jacket off, and Whizzer takes it from him and hangs it up in the closet. Marvin shoves his hands in his pockets. Whizzer takes Marvin’s face in his hands and kisses him slow and sweet, the way Marvin normally likes. Marvin just lets himself be kissed.

Whizzer pulls away. “Are you okay?” He runs a thumb across Marvin’s cheek.

“I’m fine.” Marvin says.

“Are you?” Whizzer presses. “Because I’m still fully dressed, and that’s not like you. At all.”

“I’m fine.” Marvin repeats. He leans in and kisses Whizzer. Then, “I guess--I guess it’s just that you’re so happy here, and-and established.”

Whizzer laughs. “What’s wrong with that?”

“You don’t need me.” Marvin says. “You’re happy _without_ me.”

“You’re right,” Whizzer says with a shrug. “I am happy without you. But I’m even happier _with_ you, ‘kay? Chill out.”

“‘Kay.” Marvin echoes.

“Now, c’mon,” Whizzer says, tugging at the zipper on Marvin’s hoodie. “Take me to bed.”

Marvin does.

It’s different from all the other times. It’s slower and softer and sweeter; neither of them is rushing to finish before one of the others comes looking. Marvin takes his time. He studies every inch of Whizzer’s body. He presses delicate kisses along Whizzer’s collarbone, down his front, on the inside of his thighs. Whizzer lets out breathy moans and murmurs Marvin’s name; Marvin relishes in the sound of it all.

When they finish, neither rushes to put his clothes back on and get back to wherever he’s supposed to be. Instead, Whizzer takes Marvin in his arms and tangles their legs together. Marvin places his hands over Whizzer’s and holds them close to his chest. They fall asleep like that, warm and intertwined, like they’re meant to be.

* * *

 

“This has gotta come to a stop, Marvin.” Marvin wakes up to this statement. Whizzer is sitting up on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands. Marvin rubs his eyes and glances to read the time on Whizzer’s digital clock.

“Whizz, it’s four o’clock in the morning; can’t this wait?”

“We can’t keep doing this.” Whizzer says, ignoring Marvin’s attempt to squash this discussion. “We can’t keep sneaking around behind Trina’s back, okay? I _like_ Trina.”

“That makes one of us.” Marvin snorts.

Whizzer lifts his head to look at the other boy. “ _Stop_. Stop saying stuff like that. You act like that’s supposed to make this all okay, like you not liking--let alone _loving_ \--Trina is a good excuse for you to cheat on her. It’s _not._ It makes it worse! Let her _go_ , if you hate her so much. Let her be happy with someone else.”

Marvin props himself up on his elbow, using his other hand to rub little circles in the small of Whizzer’s back.

“What brought all this on?” he asks.

Whizzer’s voice is uncharacteristically quiet. “I’m tired of lying to all my friends.” At that, Marvin sighs and flops back on the bed. He’s got no good response for that, no way to make it all better. Because even if he did break up with Trina, he’s in no position to come out; his family would disown him, and he’s not _like_ Whizzer--he can’t just say _to hell with them_ and move on.

“I know.” Marvin says finally, staring up at Whizzer’s cracked ceiling. “I am too.”

“So you’ll fix it?”

“Whizzer, I can’t. My parents--” He stops, because he swears he can see Whizzer’s whole body go stiff as a board.

“Forget it.” Whizzer says quickly--too quickly for Marvin to be comfortable. “Forget I said anything, you’re right. Let’s just- let’s just go back to sleep.” Whizzer slides back under the sheets, pressing himself up against Marvin. Briefly, Marvin considers asking him if he wants to talk about it more, or about something else entirely; Whizzer flipped so quickly, Marvin’s sure he must of struck some nerve.

But he doesn’t press. Instead, he pulls Whizzer close to him and buries his nose in Whizzer’s hair.

“You know I love you.” He whispers. “Even if I’m still with Trina, you know I love _you_.”

“Yeah.” Whizzer replies softly. “I know you think you do.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I said this needed tweaking, but instead of doing that I just reread it 80 times and then decided it was fine. I present to you, part two, which exists almost entirely for comic relief.

When they wake up for good later in the morning, it’s as if nothing happened. Marvin would almost wonder if he dreamt the whole thing, except for the definite tear stains on Whizzer’s cheeks (those break his heart just a little bit; he hadn’t known Whizzer was  _ crying _ ). Whizzer shoves Marvin’s attempt at a good morning kiss away, complaining of morning breath and too much intimacy. He makes some remark about needing to shower, and climbs out of bed, telling Marvin he’d better get dressed and not in that “disgusting maroon hoodie of yours”.

Whizzer’s laptop makes a god-awful ringing noise, and Marvin jumps out of his skin. 

“Would you relax?” Whizzer says. “Someone’s trying to Skype me. Can you get it? It’s probably ‘Delia.” Marvin crosses to Whizzer’s desk, flips the laptop open, and presses the button to pick up the call. Rather than Cordelia’s bubbly smile, too pink lipstick, and bouncy blonde curls, the screen fills with the faces of Trina and Mendel.

“ _ Marvin _ ?” Trina practically shrieks his name, her jaw dropping. “What are you doing in Boston with  _ Whizzer _ ?” 

Marvin has no time to be stunned. “My parents went to Bermuda, so I couldn’t go home for the holiday.” That’s not a lie. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Trina asks. “You could have come home with me.”

“His loss, Trin.” Mendel says, flashing her a smile. Beneath Whizzer’s desk, Marvin clenches his fists. He likes Mendel, really, he does, but Mendel’s crush on Trina--on _Marvin’s girlfriend_ \-- has gotten more and more obvious with each passing day. _It’s_ _pissing Marvin off._

“Well, Whizzer wasn’t going home either,” Marvin explains calmly, though his heart is threatening to beat out of his chest. “So I figured we could keep each other company.” That isn’t really a lie either, he reasons; he’s just leaving out some details. 

“That was nice of you.” Trina says. She’s making doe eyes at him and Marvin fights the urge to roll his eyes. He feels as though he’s dodged a bullet though, evaded suspicion for one more day. He can live with that. 

“Where  _ is _ Whizzer?” Mendel asks, his eyes darting around as if that will somehow allow him to see more of Whizzer’s room than his screen is already showing.

“Mendel wants to show him some shirts he bought when we went Black Friday shopping earlier this morning.” Trina offers this despite Marvin neither asking nor caring.

As if on cue, Whizzer comes over and reaches for something on the shelf above his desk, giving his laptop’s webcam full view of his (thankfully boxer-brief covered) crotch.

“ _ Whizzer! _ ” Trina hisses. “Put some pants on!”

“I’m going in the shower.” Whizzer says as he heads for the door, as if that somehow excuses nearly flashing the people on the other end of the call. 

“Well.” Mendel says, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed. “That was certainly something.” Marvin does roll his eyes at that, because what’s Mendel going to do? Crush on his ~~_boyfr_~~ _\-- his Whizzer_ now too? 

That would be just Marvin’s luck.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't really proofread this, so if there are a lot of errors, sorry!


End file.
